


Oswald the Overthinker

by Hawkscape



Series: Redtail Tales [8]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Banter, Feral Ghoul Family, Fire, Flirting, Flowers, Fluff and Angst, Food, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Introspection, Literal Sleeping Together, Magic Tricks, Other, Rachel's just mentioned, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9410555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkscape/pseuds/Hawkscape
Summary: Oswald decides to join Redtail on their quest across the Commonwealth and will take any chance to show off his skills in magic. Unfortunately, being close to someone is not something Oswald has had to do for a while and it makes him ruminate on life and what he deserves in it.





	1. Abraca-demonstration

It wasn't hard for Oswald to decide to go with Red. They were the first fresh blood into the park that had survived more than two days in a while and he knew that even with his magic he wouldn't be able escape into the world on his own. Then they barged in with an equal combination of level headed conversation and skull busting. Just what he needed. They would be the ticket he needed to bring his show on the road. 

At first Red had just been a means to an end. Be with them or be bowled over, but then he actually started growing fond of the cowboy. They shared a love of theatricality and the want to help others they cared about. Granted they both usually went about it in different ways, but Oswald was not above compromise. 

They had found Rachel and even if he didn't like the outcome it was better than being left to wonder forever. With her gone and everyone else feral, there was nothing tying him to the park anymore. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold out forever against the raiders, so he packed up his magic kit and started walking. 

Red was hesitant to let him bring his gang of ferals, but as long as he kept them from attacking people they let it slide for the moment. When they got back to more civilized areas it might be a problem, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it. They were already entertaining ideas of Oswald meeting the similarly styled Hancock. Why did they have so many friends that were ghouls with odd fashion sense? “Well, they say clothes make the man.” 

Red jolted out of their thoughts. They often fell into the lull of walking and zoned out for long periods of time on the road. This wasn't always the best idea, but they were currently making their way back from Nuka World towards the more central commonwealth and in the middle of a whole lot of nothing. They cocked their head. “What? Was I thinking out loud?” 

Oswald shook his head. “No, you’ve just been staring at me for the past minute or so looking confused and I guessed. You have to be good at reading people when you're a magician.” 

Red started. They hadn't realized they had been staring at him and looked away. “Sorry, I zone out sometimes and usually when I do I stare the brightest thing around.” 

“I’ll take that as a complement. So, you weren't thinking about my magnificent wardrobe?” He did a slight flourish of his hand to indicate himself. 

The cowboy made a face. “Well, I was, but that's just a coincidence.” 

“Coincidences are the most powerful kind of magic.” He gave a theatrical wink. 

Red rolled their eyes. “Do you ever turn it off? I’m not complaining, just wondering for future reference.” 

Oswald put a hand to his chest. “Forgive me, I haven't had an audience in quite some time.” 

The cowboy could empathize. They didn't do well alone, mentally or physically. “Speaking of magic, what kind of tricks can you do aside from bringing ghouls back from the dead, not that that isn't already amazing.” 

The magician rubbed his chin. “Some of them require a bit of set up, but I’ll see what I can do on the fly.” 

Red waved their hands. “Oh no, it's fine. I didn't mean you had to do them now. I was just curious.” 

Oswald shuffled around in his pockets and sleeves, not looking at their partner. “Nonsense, magic is meant to be shown not described.” He pulled out a pack of cards. “There they are.” They both stopped walking and the gang of ferals crowded around them, like they wanted to see to. “Now normally I would open a new pack to show it wasn't tampered with, but I’m fresh out of those so you’ll just have to take my word for it. This is a pretty old pack so some of the cards are missing, but it'll still work.” He shuffled through the deck with the faces towards him for a moment. “Hmmm I think I lost my ace of spades though.” He started patting down his suit again with a frown on his face. “Ah! I remember, I put it somewhere safe.” He reached forward and pulled the card out of Red’s front jacket pocket. “There it is!” 

Red blinked. Okay, that was pretty good. They had no idea how he had done that. They clapped genuinely, the dust falling off of their gloves. Oswald bowed his head momentarily before shuffling the deck more thoroughly. He tossed the cards back and forth like they were made of water, making them fold and flip every which way as he didn't even bother to look at them, but instead gave little nods and smiles to the ferals gathered around, as if they were a crowd of socialites. When he was done showing off his shuffling skills he finally spread the cards out in a fan. “Pick a card, any car.” Red tapped their chin in contemplation and hummed before picking at random. “Now, don't show me what it is, but I want you to look at it really hard. Concentrate, alright?” Red nodded and Oswald waited for a few moments with the cards still fanned out. “Now put it back. Make sure I don't see it!” They cowboy carefully shoved the card back in with its brothers. He shuffled the deck with some more flourishes before analyzing it carefully and peeling of the top card and turning it around. “Is this your card?” Red squinted hard and shook their head. “Ah?” Oswald did a small flicking motion with the hand holding the card and he was suddenly holding the correct one. “Are you sure?” 

Red clapped again. “Wow!” They clapped and the rest of the ghouls started clapping as well, if a bit less well coordinated. “Amazing! You should go into business. A lot of people could use cheering up like this. They would probably pay for it, to.” 

Oswald bowed slightly again. “While I appreciate the kind word and some patronage, sometimes it's nice to have a more…” He smirked slightly and stilled his shuffling while looking them in the eye. “personal audience.” 

He gave a small wink and Red could help snorting. “I bet you say that to all the wandering mercenaries. That line must get you a lot of dates.” 

Oswald put away the pack of cards in one of the many hidden pockets in his coat. “Not as many as you would think. This one however…” He leaned forward sharply and flicked his wrist, suddenly producing a bunch of broc flowers, and presenting them to Redtail. “gets me tons of dates.” 

Slightly stunned by how fast the magician could move and the bunch of petals suddenly in their face, it took the cowboy a few seconds to respond. They took the bunch of flowers and put them in one of their spare gun holsters. “I can imagine it would. If I was weaker in the knees I might have just swooned right into your arms.” 

Oswald stood up straight and began to straighten the cuffs of his jacket. “You bet. I would surprise Rachel with that one every date. Somehow she never got tired of it.” With the mention of his lost love's name Red froze as if to see how they were supposed to react. The sparkle seemed to have left his eyes but he still had on a nostalgic smile. He had accepted it. 

The mercenary averted their eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn't help her.” 

Oswald made sure the straps on his pack were adjusted to keep walking. “Heh, she had that same streak of good will. Remember that not everyone's problem is your problem, Red.” He turned to look at the direction they had been walking with a sudden coolness. Red looked around them to the ferals that had clustered back behind them once again. They wondered if Oswald would ever take his own advice.


	2. Magic Musings

They didn't walk much farther after the impromptu magic show as the sun was going to set soon. They were able to find an old office building to hold up in for the night and after quickly making sure it was clear of readers they started setting up camp. The ferals were left to wander and look for food while Red started a small fire in an old trash can to heat up some less raw nutrition. Oswald was staring mesmerized by the fire with his chin in one hand. “What do you want to eat?” He was snapped out of his revere and looked at his partner like a deer in headlights. Red shook a small can of Smash in their hands, making a disconcerting squelching sound. “What do you want for dinner? Smash or sugar bombs?” 

Oswald wasn't very convinced by the odd sounds coming from the ‘meat’ product. “Sugar bombs.” He got the sparkle package tossed his way and vaguely wondered if the glitter would taste better than the actual cereal. Red decided to forgo the suspicious tin as well and tore open their own box of cereal. Even if they weren't going to use the fire for food, they were still glad it was lit. The chill has begun to blow through the broken windows of the building and was making the cowboy shiver. The small trashcan fire wasn't throwing much heat but Red didn't dare let it go free as the abundant fire hazards around them might make the building go up. It was cold as sin but a cold building was better than no building. 

After downing the dry cereal and a bottle of water to make their mouth not taste so much like sawdust they tried to get as close as they tried to bundle up fully clothed in their bedroll but they were still shivering as the cool linoleum floor sucked up all their heat. Oswald munched slowly by the handful and reclined relaxed against a desk. He swallowed his mouth full and motioned at them slightly. “You okay there, chatters?” 

Red was aware that their teeth chattered obnoxiously when they were even the least bit cold but they couldn't help it. All this desert heat made their cold tolerance low. They would have normally been accused of being over dramatic but this was one of the few times they weren't doing it on purpose. “Peach-ch-ch-y.” 

Oswald laughed at them openly. “One thing I don't miss about being human is the cold.” He gave a fake shiver as Red curled up farther into their cocoon of futility. “Guess there are some benefits to being a living nuclear reactor.” Reds stayed huddled before scooting not unlike a caterpillar to get closer to Oswald until they were brushing up against his side. The magician gave a more nervous chuckle. “Sure you wanna be this close? Some people tell me I have a magnetic personality, but it's probably just the radiation.” Red didn't move from their spot. “What I’m trying to say it's staying this close might be hazardous to your health.” 

Red squinted menacingly inside their caterpillar shell of padding. “Are you threatening me?” 

Oswald huffed and threw up their hands. “No! I’m just saying that I literally produce radiation and that might not be a healthy thing to be snuggling up to.” 

Red leaned into them more heavily. “So you're cool with me sitting like this?” 

The magician huffed again. “Yeah, sure, I was just trying to-” 

The cowboy didn't wait for them to finish and buried themselves more definitively into his side. “You are a space heater and a nightlight wrapped into one.” There was a beat of silence before they added. “That was a compliment.” 

Oswald couldn't say he didn't like the reassuring press of someone else against them, but he didn't want them to get sick, so he continued to try and dissuade them. “Won't my incandescence keep you awake?” 

Red covered retreated into their roll with now only their nose and mouth showing. “Nope. Doesn't it keep you awake?” 

The magician wanted to shrug but their one shoulder was currently being used. “I actually think ghouls have some kind of second eyelid that helps with that.” 

The cowboy peered their good eye out of the bag. “What? No way. Show me.” 

Oswald put his hands up in defense. “I’m not sure I can close them separately. It's like closing your eyes when you sneeze, it's a reflexive thing.” Red wasn't convinced but reluctantly slid back down into their resting position. 

A mumble came from the bag. “Are you actually not? Do you need me to move?” It seems that now that they were warm, Red was ready to pass out. 

“Well, No, I just don't want you to get sick because of me.” Red reached out a sleepy hand and pat them uncoordinatedly on the chest. 

“S’fine Ossie. I got meds for that sort of thing. Besides, you don't actually put out that much radiation. Like...less than one.” Oswald snorted at how silly they seemed to get when they were sleepy but was relieved that his presence wasn't actively killing his new partner. 

“Less than one radiation. That an official measurement?” Their partner tried to put their hand to cover his mouth but ended up more on his chin. Oswald wondered if they realized how handsy they were being with a walking corpse. 

“Shhhhshshshhhh...sh..” They moved their hand from shushing him to simply patting his cheek. “It's time for sleep. Not talking.” They retreated back into their cocoon and stilled. 

Oswald contemplated simply staying up to be a lookout, but he knew his companions had the perimeter surrounded. He was also very tired from all the walking. He had some problems keeping up with his new partner at points, but he hoped they hadn't noticed. He hadn't really been close to anyone since Rachel left and everyone else turned. He hadn't realized how much he had missed it until it came back. Falling back into a social rhythm wasn't hard. It was actually almost too easy. So easy that he had to remind himself that he shouldn't be aloud to be happy or have relationships. He had killed people, he had used his former friends as mindless weapons to throw at people, he let his love go out and die alone. He felt bad about these things but he didn't think he felt bad enough. He had to keep moving and surviving, but did he deserve it? Deserve this? 

Oswald looked up from where his vision had been blurring against a dirty wall. He looked at the fire and the two packs and at the hardened cowboy who thought nothing of shushing a glowing zombie to sleep. He thought of Rachel dying and his friends becoming zombies and raiders thriving. He realized that people didn't always get what they deserved. He looked over to the small window of his friends face he could see. People didn't always get what they deserved but maybe Red would change that. Maybe he could, too. 

His mind wasn't at rest but it was as close as it would get for the night. The magician resigned himself to laying down on top of his bedroll and sharing one of his sides with a mercenary cowboy. He drifted off thinking about people and relationships and if he deserved either in his life. When he woke up the next day with a disheveled cowboy monkeying onto him for his warmth, he decided it wasn't entirely his decision.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to drop me a line!  
> http://hawkscape.tumblr.com/  
> https://www.youtube.com/c/HawkScape  
> http://hawkscape.deviantart.com/


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